'Triumph' a fitting title for the big-screen story of Perry Wallace

Perry Wallace, a Vanderbilt alumnus who was the first African-American basketball player in the SEC, has died.
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Former Vanderbilt basketball player Godfrey Dillard kisses Annie Wallace-Sweet as he greets Jessie Wallace Jackson, left, and Bessie Wallace-Garrett, right, sisters of Perry Wallace, during the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Friday.(Photo: Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean)Buy Photo

Annie Wallace Sweet was a sophomore at Fisk University when her brother, Perry, was born in Nashville in 1948, and on Monday the 87-year-old Sweet navigated a long red carpet at Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium to watch a film about his life.

She lost her baby brother Friday to cancer. She spoke for the 30 family members and 600 others on hand Monday who were about to be reminded of the staying power of his life.

“I wish he were here. I really do,” Sweet said before the premiere of “Triumph,” a documentary about Perry Wallace. “But I’m thrilled for who he was and where we’ve come.”

Wallace was the first black basketball player in the SEC, breaking that barrier in the fall of 1967, though he and his friend Godfrey Dillard endured vicious, mob racism as members of the Vandy freshman team in the fall of ’66. Their trip to Mississippi State was a key moment in the 2014 Andrew Maraniss biography of Wallace, “Strong Inside,” and it has a starring role in “Triumph” as well.

It’s an awful and infuriating scene, from the human excrement awaiting the freshman Commodores in their locker room to the palpable sense that this could have turned into more than screaming. And it’s a key moment in the story of Wallace growing into the role of pioneer. This film, directed by Rich Gentile and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, does not pull punches. Neither does Wallace, who explains of his viewpoint as a young man: “I looked at the white world, I looked at the black world. And I said, ‘This is bull(crap).’”

Gentile met Wallace four years ago, interviewing him for a different documentary on basketball and the black community. A planned 15-minute interview became an hour and 20 minutes, and Gentile – who hadn’t heard of Wallace until he started researching for that film – knew what his next big project had to be.

“Triumph” compares Wallace with other trailblazing black athletes in our country’s history, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson. Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and activist Harry Edwards are among those interviewed. But it’s the gritty details of Wallace’s Vanderbilt journey that explain why he should be hailed for more than breaking the SEC color barrier. That was just the beginning.

He attended a white church at Vandy, until some parishioners threatened to leave and take the church out of their wills if he kept coming. Dillard, more naturally vocal and active in civil rights pursuits on campus, was cut for it. A Wallace dunk enraged Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and, voila, the dunk was banned.

Wallace’s teammates, several of whom attended the premiere, admittedly did not stand up for him or support him as they should have. He was often isolated on a campus that saw white kids celebrating the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Wallace’s 1970 tell-all to Frank Sutherland of The Tennessean earned him “You should be grateful” scoldings and essentially ended his relationship with Vanderbilt until athletic director David Williams reached out to him in the early 2000s.

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Chancellor of Vanderbilt University Nicholas S. Zeppos, left, greets former Vanderbilt basketball player Godfrey Dillard as he arrives at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Friday.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

Former Vanderbilt basketball player Godfrey Dillard kisses Annie Wallace-Sweet as he greets Jessie Wallace Jackson, left, and Bessie Wallace-Garrett, right, sisters of Perry Wallace, during the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Friday.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

People admire a 1968-1969 season photograph of the Vanderbilt men's basketball team hanging on a wall at Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Friday.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

A poster of a news article hangs on the wall at Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

People arrive at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

1968-1969 Vanderbilt men's basketball team managers Paul Wilson, left, and Gene Smitherman stand in front of a team photograph as they talk after arriving for the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

Former Vanderbilt basketball player Godfrey Dillard, center, and director Richard Gentile greet Annie Wallace-Sweet, sister of Perry Wallace, after arriving at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

From left, director Richard Gentile, Jessie Wallace-Jackson, former Vanderbilt basketball player Godfrey Dillard, Annie Wallace-Sweet, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University Nicolas S. Zeppos, and Bessie Wallace-Garrett pose for a photograph after arriving at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

People arrive for the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

CMA emerging artist of the year Shane Runion and his wife Jessie admire a poster of former Vanderbilt basketball player Perry Wallace after arriving for the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

James Wallace, nephew of former Vanderbilt basketball player Perry Wallace, talks with friends after arriving for the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

Former Tennessee Titan and NFL Hall of Famer Eddie George is greeting after arriving at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

Chancellor of Vanderbilt University Nicolas S. Zeppos, right, and Henry Hicks talk after arriving for the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

A poster of former Vanderbilt basketball player Perry Wallace hangs on a wall at the Nashville premiere of the documentary movie "Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace," chronicling the 50th anniversary of the integration of SEC basketball, on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Perry Wallace, the first black basketball player at Vanderbilt University and the subject of the documentary movie, died Dec. 1.
Mark Zaleski/For The Tennessean

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And nothing hits harder than the hate-filled trips to Mississippi State and Ole Miss, excessive displays of bigotry and tests of what a young person can endure.

“As I went through, it became clear to me and I think I convey it in the film, this wasn’t merely ingrained hatred,” Gentile said of a film that won best documentary feature at the Los Angeles Film Awards and will soon be released theatrically in Los Angeles and New York. “It was an ingrained belief of a superior race and an inferior race. Blacks were viewed as a subspecies. And so I think we conveyed that and I tried to do it in a fair way. The South isn’t that way today, thank God, but we’ve still got a long way to go in every place around the country.”

That was part of a post-film discussion involving Dillard, Gentile and Williams, moderated by Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos.

“There’s never a wrong time for this story,” Zeppos said, “but let’s just say there’s a pressing need for this story.”

It can’t be told enough. It was told Monday in the context of mourning, the big screen reminding many who loved Wallace of his sly wit and bright smile.

“He was the nicest person I ever knew,” said the Rev. Troy Merritt, who graduated with Wallace from Pearl High in 1966.

“There’s so much he went through that we were not aware of,” said Rosalyn Donaldson Word, another Pearl classmate. “Very traumatic, and to be honest, most of us probably would have quit. Perry was so special to all of us, and when I learned that he passed away, I got out his book and read it again. Every time I read it, I cry.”

Gentile showed Wallace the completed film several months ago and said he “loved it.” Dillard talked to Wallace for the last time a couple of weeks ago on the phone.

“We laughed about our experiences here and we cried a little bit, too,” Dillard said on the red carpet before the viewing. “But his immortality is in place.”

After seeing “Triumph” for the first time, Dillard was overcome with emotion as he took the stage for the round-table discussion.

“It’s just so painful…he’s not here for this great moment,” Dillard said.

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.